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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Controversial, steamy - mildly disturbing, January 25, 2006
This review is from: 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed (Paperback)
I often note there are a few things that make me never want to have a daughter: 1) That T-Mobile commercial where the cheerleader squawks on the phone incessantly to her friend 2) the movie Thirteen and 3) this book.
100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed - as the hype conveyed - would be nothing without the string of sexual encounters, all graphically relived, through the pages of "Melissa P."s diary. The blase nature of the parents, who take little to no interest in their daughter's life, are almost certainly the catalyst for "Melissa P"'s sexploits and flowery (yet often captivating) writing style. While it's truly a coming of age novel, the character's development is on warp-speed as she's left to her own devices to experiment, often in dangerous situations, with her sexuality. Throughout, the character never breaks form, and the reader begins to anticipate her path; fear for her and maybe even envy her exploits - even if just a little. Maybe it's because this girl is 15 and her descriptions are so vivid... or maybe it's because she's had more sex than most 30 year-olds I know - not sure. But, this was one of the more provocative books I've read in awhile.
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54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't Live Up to the Hype, January 17, 2005
This review is from: 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed (Paperback)
I always hesitate to criticize the prose to sharply when the book I'm reading is a translation. Still, I have to say that, though there are interesting moments in this "story," for the most part I was unimpressed. The writing to me was self-indulgent and childish, typical of a teenage girl's diary but not the ones that usually receive world-wide publication. Is this really the way a teenager thinks and speaks in the twenty-first century? If so, then they don't think and speak too differently from the writers of erotic novels in Victorian times.
From the reviews and interviews I've read, some of the popularity of this novel is explained by the fact that it is based on the author's own experiences. Considering that, it does offer the story a little more poignancy. But what is this book supposed to do for the reader, then? Are we supposed to be aroused by the eroticism or saddened by the poor protagonist's violations? In the end, various passages made me feel a little of both. But the key word there is "little." I was not extraordinarily moved in either direction and I didn't feel like I was left with any universal insights into the experiences of a modern teenager.
It actually bothers me that I was disappointed by this book. I was probably expecting a little too much from the hype in the articles I'd read. And I really dislike doing anything that might discourage a young person from picking up a pen and exploring their feelings in writing. It is true that journals and diaries can often provide inspiration for wonderful works of fiction and nonfiction. Rarely, however, is the journal itself a brilliant work. This one, I think, is not.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I both loved it and hated it, August 16, 2005
This review is from: 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed (Paperback)
This smashing book is a semiautobiographical work, a surprise bestseller in Italy, the work of a 17-year-old girl, Melissa Panarello. It follows Melissa's journey from a narcissistic 14-year-old looking for love, through a number of amorphous sexual relationships that leave her feeling used and humiliated, and on to real love.
Now, I must admit to being of more than one mind on this book. Its graphic sexuality gives the book a reputation as a work of erotica, but the denigrating, self-loathing sexuality depicted is never really arousing. For me, a telling line is found on page 76, "I search for excitement born from humiliation. I search for annihilation."
Instead, this really is the tale of a girl, who does not find the love she needs at home, and goes out searching for it in all the wrong places. Her sexuality does not lead to fulfillment for herself, or for the reader. She must move back from her sexuality, to find love first - to feel loved and to love another.
Overall, I find this book to be a touching story of a girl; a girl in search of something deep, on a terrible journey not taking her where she wants and needs to go. Yes, it is a work of graphic sexuality, perhaps accidentally(?) glorifying the sexuality that the main character finds so debasing.
Do I recommend this book? Yes, I do. But, be warned: it's a book of contradictions. I both loved it and hated it, loved and hated the characters, loved and hated the author. And perhaps a great book is one that takes you where you never expected to go.
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